Another quiz for herbalists.

Staying in bed today with a flu. Outside it is snowing, snowing and…snowing. Forecast for today says we can expect 30-40 cm of a new snow.
So, time for the tea and one more quiz for you. I will show you photos of a plant, which Russians in Far East call “Ivan´s tea”. Until this weekend I didn´t know anything about this plant, which has spread quite rapidly in the High Tatras after hurricaine in 2004 which destroyed large areas of woods in our highest mountains. This clearing made a lot more place for plants loving lot of sun. If you come to the High Tatras in July, they bloom in beautiful blue and lavender colours.
So, as I said, this tall decorative plant/herb is visible in our highest mountains during summer season.

You can see it at the banks of mountain lakes as well as along mountain hiking routes…

Its flowers have lavender colour, but it has sometimes purplish shadows, too.
Their detail….

On my walks they sometimes create views almost like painted , don´t they…

Tea from its leaves (and that is new information also for me) had antiinflammatory effects but Russians use it in prevention of cancer.
Do you recognize it?

Got it:) opened my little book of wild flowers on the page with it the first time, lol.
I would go for Rosebay Willowherb - Epilobium augustifolium. Am I right?
I like its seed heads as well;-)
oh, sorry forgot to say - nice blog.
and looks like I will be staying at home today as well - bit of running nose and bit of snow outside:)

Yes, you are right.
It is Chamerion augustifolium, or Great Willow Herb in Canada, or Rosebay Wilowherb in Britain.
This species has been placed in the genus Chamerion rather than Epilobium based on several morphological distinctions: spiral (rather than opposite or whorled) leaf arrangement;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamerion_angustifolium

Kasia@interesting, that you call it "wierzbówka" as in Slovak "vrbovka" is a plant which has similar effects in prostate hyperplasia (enlarged prostate).
Hey girls, if I can be in bed, I feel much better :)) Thank you for your interest.

I always get confused with Rosebay Willow Herb and London Pride, which grew naturally on the bomb sites in London after the war. There was a popular song about it but I cant remember all the words.

'London Pride has been handed down to us,
London Pride is a flower thats sweet,
London Pride means our own dear town to us,
And for us it ever will be ?
Hey Lady !......................
.....................................
Hey Lady ! are you a cockney Sparrow
.....................................
From the Ritz to the Anchor and Crown,
Nothing else will ever replace
Our pride in London Town.'

Thank you, ladies. I am glad I am not boring :)
Lincslass@ as Klahanie said, it is quite often called fireweed, referring to the fact it grows on places where there were fires in the past. Were there fires along the track?

Epilogue.
It stopped snowing. Everything is white, roads are not visible anymore (I mean those in the garden).
I slept in the afternoon, made spinal excercises, made a very good herbal tea with manuka honey +10 from New Zealand (bought in MaS) and cooked a saffron rizotto with mushrooms....hmmm.
Now the day is at the end. I must say, that it was very long time ago when I paid myself so much attention and have relax. Time for TV now.
See you soon and thank you.

P:S. Kasia, in my book on Italian foods I found also recipe for "Polish rizotto". Imagine! :))

Epilobium augustifolium or rosebay willow herb, fire weed to give it 2 common names. It is a common weed around here. The downy seeds are wind dispersed and they were blown along rail tracks. They were also very common on bomb sites after the war too.
they are a very pretty plant and there is a better behaved white form that doesnt take over.

sorry you are under the weather but glad you might have stayed under the duvet. wish I could avoid having to go out in the snow.

glad to hear you're having time for yourself. As much as I hate being ill this is also the only 'me' time, lol.
Always busy, there is always something to do, somewhere to go etc...
no snow in the weather forecast for my area:)
but I always liked this silence in the evening with fresh snow on the ground, trees - and not a single track of someones foot;-)
P.S. Polish rizotto? can I have a recipe? please:):):) but no rush:)

Kasia@Polish rizotto
Of course, recipe is only for 6 persons (lol).
3 pouches of rice
2 chicken breasts
3 red peppers, 3 green peppers
one can of red beans
tomatoe puree
3 onions
4 pickles
30 dkg of mushrooms (champignons)
salt, black pepper, paprika
oregano
4 garlic cloves
Cut onion into small pieces, put it on the pan with oil, stir-fry, add chicken breasts cut into small cubes and fry until it turns golden. Add mushrooms, stir-fry. In a separate pot cook the rice in salty water and in antoher one stew vegetables (peppers, paprika, red beans, pickles, oregano, garlic) for about 20 minutes.
Finally mix together the rice (when it is ready), meat and stewed vegetables. The book says that Italians would prefer oregano at the end, as the fresh herb.

Please, apologize me, I am watching now the film with Peter Sellers Party (1968). He is so funny and perfect in imitations. I ordered all his films recently :)) as I miss a good quality humour in nowaday TVs. See you soon.